Armchair anthropology for the rest of us

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Monthly Archives: August 2012

Everyone has some crazy weather story to pull out at less-than-exciting dinner parties. Since we’re all subjected to Mother Nature’s effects on a daily basis, it’s easy to strike up a conversation about a blizzard we just barely survived, or a lightning strike that came this close to taking us out. But if we’re really honest with ourselves, we have to admit that most of the stories we tell are just a little bit exaggerated. I mean, do you really believe that hail storm could have given you a concussion? No, no you don’t.

But sometimes a storm really does almost kill you. And when that happens, wouldn’t you give just about anything to have a video to show your friends that proves you’re not full of it? If your answer is yes, I bet you wish the footage looked something like this: Continue reading →

We’ve all heard the saying “opposites attract” attributed to any number of situations, but I’d be willing to wager that statement is at its most accurate in Sin City. Nowhere else will you find a single boulevard packed with such random mash-ups as a rollercoaster that dips through a casino, gondolas (complete with singing gondoliers) that float you through the heart of a shopping mall, and an 8.5 acre dancing water display that laughs in the face of its desert locale.

As the city that pretty much invented one-upmanship, it’s no wonder Vegas is about to become home to what is arguably the most random mash-up of all.

Every time I check Canada’s Olympic medal count, I feel a little more inept at math. And that’s quite the feat, considering I was forced had to endure summer school for high school math not once, but twice.

As of 11:30 MST on August 4, CTV’s Olympic app listed Canada at 11th place in the overall medal standings. That’s a damn fine showing for us at the Summer Games considering our seasons consist of almost winter, winter, spring(ish), and road construction. Plus, we just earned our first gold in women’s trampoline so suck on that USA! (that comment isn’t really relevant here, but you have to give your country props when you can)

But all that joy is diminished if you check out Canada’s medal count via Google. In a cruel twist of unfortunate math, we somehow slip 10 spots in the standings and settle way down low at 21st place. Cue the sad violin music.

So what’s going on here? Is Canada relatively low in the overall ranking, are we doing fairly well, or is the Olympic medal count ridiculously arbitrary because there isn’t global agreement on the best measure?